mgo.licio.us

"The face of the operation is Briatore (referred to exclusively in the film by his colleagues and angry, chanting detractors as "Flavio"), an anthropomorphic radish who spends most of his time at QPR plotting to fire all of the managers."

At press time, Harbaugh had sent Michigan’s athletic department an envelope containing a heavily annotated seating chart, a list of the 63,000 seat views he had found unsatisfactory, and a glowing 70-page report on section 25, row 12, seat 9, which he claimed is “exactly what the great sport of football is all about.”

As someone who is still in that age group and is someone who moved back to Ann Arbor 1 1/2 years ago after experiencing how other places cater to that same age group, I disagree (and obviously that 2010 Forbes list does as well).

Edit: To elaborate, there's plenty of eating of all varieties, lots of job oppurtunities (especially in the tech industry), shopping, 3 different types of bar scenes, different types of neighborhoods for different familial needs, plenty of single people if your still looking for a mate, and tons of schools and daycare options for families that are just starting out. Nothing about this town does not work for the 23-30 age range.

Formerly jhender85 (drastic change, no?)

As someone in that age group, I COMPLETELY disagree. Of all the places I have lived Ann Arbor is by the most friendly to young professionals. The diversity of clubs, breweries, resturants, shopping, music, art, and athletics makes Ann Arbor a very fun place to live.

Really? I have always felt Ann Arbor is a great place for recent college grads. If anything I would say the 23-30 group is one of the best times to be in Ann Arbor(Just behind the 18-22 undergrad age).

I definitely love Ann Arbor, but I also definitely agree with aaamichfan on this. He didn't say it was a shitty place to live for people of that age group, just that it's the group least catered to. We can all agree that AA is an incredible place to live as a college student, and it's also a great place to grow up and to raise a family, which covers the 0-22 and 30-50ish age groups.

Now, as far as the 23-30 group - what sets AA apart from any other big-ish town? Every city has good restaurants and some good bars. That doesn't set Ann Arbor apart from Royal Oak or even Grand Rapids, let alone the places I would consider "great" cities for that age group. There's no major nightlife, there are no big living areas for people of that age group and there are a relatively low number of others at that age group.

For the people who think AA is a great place for 20-somethings, what sets it apart? I'm honestly curious.

As a recent grad and someone in the 20-somethings age bracket there are a lot of things AA has to offer:

Restaurants/bars: I know other mid-sized cities have a similar volume of good places, but AA really has a greater breadth of places. There are Cuban, Korean, Japanese, Mexican, Ethiopian, German, Italian, Southern BBQ and a ton of others, each with their own unique style.

Integrated town/university: I have several friends in AA who did not attend UofM, yet they can enjoy the successes of our Wolverines. There was an electricity around AA during the Final Four run, whether you were affiliated with UofM or not.

Art Fair, Summer Festival, shows at Hill, Kerrytown/farmers market and numerous other activities: These help make AA a unique experience tough to replicate elsewhere.

It is tough to find a place with that level of activitiy and excitement in the small town feel AA is able to achieve.

OK, if you're saying that AA is one of the best small towns for people of that age group, I can get on board with that. But this doesn't qualify it that way. Most big cities will have all of the things you list, plus a lot more that 20-somethings enjoy.

I think it's the fact that AA still packs a punch for its size. True larger cities have a lot going on, they also (generally) have higher crime rates and the really nice cities have crazy high rent. I can see how people would make the case for a number of other cities, that's why they made a top 10; I can also see why AA was on that top 10.

I guess this is where we have to agree to disagree. If you have to put a qualifier on the end like "for the money" or "for it's size" then it's not really the best. Or Forbes should just name the list as such. But if I'm looking to buy the safest car in the country, there is a huge difference between what is the safest car for it's size or the safest car for the money and what is actually the safest car period. As for the crime rate portion, I hope that wasn't taken into account, as that's not a big factor for 20-somethings (I'm not saying anybody likes crime, just like young people are attracted to the hustle bustle at the expense of a little crime all the time).

That said, lots of bigger cities don't have the rent like NYC or SF but are still a much better fit for a 25 year old than AA. I tried to look up the list to see what other cities are listed or to see the methodology, but when I googled "forbes best places for recent college grads 2010" it didn't show up, and the 2012 list didn't have AA.

All of those numbers are reasons my wife and I are working hard to offload the house in Romulus and return to the area. I grew up near Ann Arbor and it has been a rather profound influence in my life. I miss not being able to stroll through the streets every day.

"Funny isn't it, how naughty dentists always make that one fatal mistake."

I tell my friends out here all the time that if Ann Arbor had San Diego's weather it would be the best city in the country bar none. It still probably is, second time recently MGOBLOG has made me really homesick haha.

(The other time was when I saw the video of fans greeting the bball team on their return to A2, I wished I was there so badly).

If you look on pp. 1 and 7, Ann Arbor ranks 6th among medium-sized cities, and 8th overall (having slipped from #2 last year, but we know how fluid these rankings among certain cohorts can be from year to year).

Interesting - and perhaps obvious - that many medium-sized areas are in the top quintile, with several being college towns. I have lived here for a good part of the past 40 years, and can say both that A2 is phenomenal at every stage of life, and that, in most respects, it has improved by nearly every measure (perhaps with the exception of the recent proliferation of student high-rise apartment buildings).

I look forward to my children living out the same longitudinal experience.